The McCain and Obama camps have sparred in recent days over Sen. Obama's suggestion that vehicles could get better gas mileage with properly inflated tires.

HUNTINGTON, West Virginia (CNN) - John McCain appeared to make a serious U-turn Tuesday on the practice of keeping one’s tires inflated to save fuel.

McCain and his campaign have ruthlessly mocked Obama for telling cash-pinched gas consumers in Springfield, Missouri last week to keep their tires inflated to conserve gas.

The presumptive GOP nominee got a big laugh at a massive biker rally on Monday when he mockingly told the crowd, “My opponent doesn’t want to drill, he doesn’t want nuclear power, he wants you to inflate your tires.”

But on a conference call with Philadelphia voters Tuesday night, McCain offered support for the fuel-saving tip.

“And could I mention that Sen. Obama a couple of days ago said that we ought to all inflate our tires, and I don’t disagree with that,” he said on the call. “The American Automobile Association strongly recommends it. But I also don't think that that's a way to become energy independent."

McCain’s campaign said the comment is in line with his past statements on the matter, and accused Obama of championing good tire maintenance instead of well-rounded energy reform.

“As John McCain has said multiple times and said again yesterday: keeping your tires inflated is great, but Barack Obama’s claim that this is a substitute for drilling as a part of a comprehensive energy strategy demonstrates his inexperience on the energy issue,” McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said.

CNN: Paris Hilton fires back at McCain's "Celeb" ad
Paris Hilton has fired back in response to presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain's "Celeb" ad comparing the 27-year-old heiress to Barack Obama. The less-than-two-minute spot was paid for by the comedy video Web site funnyordie.com. It features Hilton sprawling in a lounge chair in a swimsuit. The socialite mocks McCain's ad, saying, "I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead."

Washington Post: Bundler Collects From Unlikely Donors
The bundle of $2,300 and $4,600 checks that poured into Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign on March 12 came from an unlikely group of California donors: a mechanic from D&D Auto Repair in Whittier, the manager of Rite Aid Pharmacy No. 5727, the 30-something owners of the Twilight Hookah Lounge in Fullerton.

CNN Radio: The wheels on the election go round and round…
Inflation, not the fiscal kind, but of tires, is now part of the political landscape. And the majestic vista of nuclear cooling towers provided the scenic backdrop yesterday for Sen. John McCain. Bob Costantini has today's CNN Radio Political Ticker.

Pitckforkmedia.com: Rage to Play Twin Cities During Republican Convention
Days after Rage Against the Machine's Lollapalooza set threatened to become a riot, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune's website has reported [via Rolling Stone's Rock & Roll Daily] that the band will play Minneapolis' Target Center on September 3. Making this show more than just another tour date is the fact that it's happening during the Republican National Convention, which will take place in the Twin Cities from September 1-4: